China destroys seized ivory in symbolic move

Guangdong, China — The Chinese
government today destroyed 6.15 tonnes of elephant ivory
seized from illegal trade in a move signalling that China is
firmly behind international action to address rampant
elephant poaching and illegal ivory trade. The country is
the world’s biggest consumer of trafficked ivory, most of
which comes from elephants killed in Africa.

“The
destruction of seized ivory makes an important public
statement that, in conjunction with other government-led
efforts to reduce demand, has the potential to have a
significant impact on the illegal market for ivory,” said
Tom Milliken, TRAFFIC’s ivory trade expert.

China has
previously indicated it is prepared to clamp down hard
against the illegal ivory trade: the ivory destruction takes
place just weeks after eight Chinese citizens were convicted
and sentenced to 3 to 15 years imprisonment for smuggling a
total of 3.2 tonnes of ivory.

Fan Zhiyong, Head of
WWF-China’s Species Programme said: “WWF believes that
destroying seized ivory is a signal of the government’s
commitment to enhance law enforcement against illegal ivory
trade that will support international action against
elephant poaching and illegal wildlife trade.”

“Tens
of thousands of African elephants are being killed by
poachers because of the high demand of ivory. China’s
gesture is a solemn commitment by the government to cleanse
the Chinese ivory market and to guarantee the survival of
Africa’s elephants.”

Although China has a legal ivory
market based on stocks that pre-date the 1989 international
ivory trade ban and a sanctioned “one-off” ivory sale
with four African countries in 2008, under rules of the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES), seized ivory cannot be used for commercial
purposes.

“China’s actions, more than those of any
other country, have the potential to reverse the rising
trends of elephant poaching and illegal ivory
trafficking,” said Milliken.

Government officials,
together with observers including representatives from
several embassies in China, CITES, United Nations
Environment Programme China Office, IUCN China office, and
international non-governmental organizations including WWF
and TRAFFIC, attended the ivory crushing ceremony earlier
today.

Gabon, the Philippines and the United States have
all recently destroyed ivory stockpiles, while France has
also signalled its intention to do so too.

WWF and
TRAFFIC believe that best practice and transparency in the
destruction of ivory stockpiles should transpire in the
context of a robust ivory stock management system. Rigorous
documentation of all ivory stocks should be maintained and a
detailed stock inventory of the ivory to be destroyed should
be produced. Independent audits can ensure that the quantity
slated for destruction actually corresponds to the amount
that is destroyed, to provide assurances that ivory does not
find its way back into illegal markets, further feeding
illegal trade.

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